The Highway Home An Oblivion Story
by Quentin Brooks
Summary: This is my first time doing this. Think if Neverending Story met Oblivion. Critiques welcome. I'll probably do a lot of editing once I figure out this site a bit more. Thank you in advance, readers!
1. Chapter 1

Colt Collins was excited. The fact that he was excited about _anything_ was enough to be excited about, as excitement was hard to come by these days. Shifting in the passenger seat of his mother's Volvo, he watched the roadside scenery unfurl before his eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want, Cole?" his mother asked.

She was speaking, of course, about his choice of a Christmas gift. Colt's father had given him the choice of one major item he wanted for Christmas. The Collins were not well-to-do by any means, but Grandfather Collins had come through on some investments and had showered his family with money before embarking on a long-term vacation to some distant land. When Colt's father had asked him what he wanted for a gift, there had been no hesitation.

"Oblivion is, like, the best game out there right now. Of _course_ I'm sure."

Oblivion itself wasn't expensive but the computer he needed to play the game was. At first, his parents had been reluctant and had resisted but after seeing how much he truly wanted it, they finally caved.

His mother rolled her eyes and grinned. "I suppose the computer is a good investment, anyway. Just make sure you don't spend too much time on the game and not enough time keeping your grades up. 'Kay?

"Mom? I'm not twelve anymore, remember?"

"You're sixteen, kiddo, but as long as you're living with us we're going to _nag_ you like you're twelve."

It was his turn to smirk and roll his eyes. "Great..."

Laughing, she nudged him playfully with her elbow as they arrived at the Maine Mall. Colt could see the Best Buy logo. So close! He could almost taste the game now. Leading his mother inside after she parked the car, they made their way through the crowded parking lot. Once inside, he ignored the greeters at the door and made his way for the pc games section of the store, leaving his mother to fend for herself in the crowd. In just moments, he would have the one game that he never imagined would become a reality. An RPG that let you do anything, be anyone, go anywhere...a virtually never-ending game. It was his kind of game.

Quickly scanning through the titles, he found it. _The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition_. It not only included the normal game, but also two expansions all for one price. Amazing! Not only would he have the normal game, which had almost limitless game play...he'd have two expansions to explore once he was done with that. It was a dream come true. He picked up a copy with trembling hands and returned to his mother.

"Did you find it?"

"Yup. This is it." He displayed the case to her. Already, an anxiousness to play was gnawing at his insides. He already wanted to be immersed in the universe the packaging promised, forgetting all his normal day-to-day problems that plagued him so much recently and assuming the role of someone else, someone he could shape and mold to be useful and powerful.

"I don't suppose we can go home yet?" he grumbled upon seeing his mother's wandering eye. She loved to shop and he should have expected that she'd want to look around in all the stores, first, before returning home.

"Well, I wanted to go look around in JC Penneys to see if they had any deals. I need a new blouse for work."

Colt breathed in deeply.

"Sorry, kiddo." She winked at him. "I shouldn't be more than ten or twenty minutes, though, ok?"

"Yeah." He knew it wasn't going to be a mere ten or twenty minutes. It turned out to not be as bad as he expected, though. She finally found her blouse after a good forty-five minutes of bargain-searching and trying on different clothes. On the way back to the car, Colt was practically running.

"You should join track," his mother called after him. "Girls like that."

He rolled his eyes again.

The ride home seemed to take forever. To kill time, he opened the game case and examined the instruction booklet. His mind soared with the possibilities of the game play. What characters would he create? Ten races! Twenty-one pre-defined classes, and the ability to create your _own_ class?

The developers had left a parting line on the opening page that struck a chord in Colt;

_Find your own path and follow it wherever it may lead you._

Geniuses. They were all geniuses. Still, he had to see all this for himself. Without waiting for his mother to stop the car once they got home, he sprinted from the vehicle into the house and up to his room. The new computer they had set up three days prior was already on and just waiting for the disc.

He popped in the first disc, and then the second, downloading the content. Once it was finished, he double-clicked the desktop icon and the Bethesda logo popped up. He was finally playing _Oblivion_. A huge grin of content erupted across his face.

He watched with great interest as an aged emperor, Uriel Septim, set the story in motion, voiced by Patrick Stewart. Following the story-set up, there was a breathtaking view of the countryside in which the story was to be set. A large white tower in the middle of a large city was the focal point, as the camera moved closer and closer before depositing the point of view into a dank jail cell. The character creation screen was up, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to be. Finally, after much deliberation, he decided on a viking character named Bjorngar Hammerstrike; who would hopefully turn out to be a powerful Nord warrior.

The graphics were amazing. Colt felt like he was right there, in the prison cell. He almost fell the chill of the cold stone under his feet, and imagined he could smell the musty air. He was already more than impressed and he hadn't actually started playing yet. Figuring out the controls with relative ease, Colt maneuvered Bjorngar to the front of his cell where a Dark Elf character named Valen Dreth taunted him from across the hall, in another cell. Grinning, he hoped he'd get a chance to get back at the mouthy Dunmer. Guards appeared and told him to get near the wall. He obeyed, as the game would not progress without it. He did as he was told, and backed against the wall.

The guards entered, and with them...Uriel Septim, from the intro to the game.

The game froze, except for Septim, who seemed to be jumping around in some sort of a glitch. Colt couldn't believe it. After all that time, and all that stress and wanting...the game didn't even work! He grew more angry with each passing second, before he clearly saw Septim tap on the inside of the monitor glass.

"Colt," he said, still sounding like Patrick Stewart. " I am Uriel Septim VII. I need your help."


	2. Chapter 2

Stunned, Colt stared in disbelief at the computer monitor before him. What was this? A trick? He looked around his room, half-expecting to see a dozen cameras or so all filming his reaction, but his room was empty save for himself. He turned his attention back to Uriel Septim.

"I know this must come as a great shock to you, young Colt, but heed my words carefully...for our worlds are both in grave danger and their fate relies on your courage and cooperation."

Colt stared again at the screen, speechless with awe.

"Colt?" asked Septim again, waving one hand in front of the screen once more.

"This...game...is...AWESOME!!" Colt yelled, a massive grin spreading across his face. "Voice recognition? Is that what this is? I hadn't heard about _that_! This is amazing! I wonder how it knows my name, though."

"Colt?"

Colt laughed, then pretended to be serious. "Yes, your highness? Do I call you that? Your highness?" Colt fell into a low bow in front of the computer monitor, moving his chair away in the process so that he could better reach the ground with his forehead and outstretched arms.

"I'm glad to see you like that game," his mother chirped as she walked past his room with an armload of laundry.

"This is _not_ a game, young man! This is a matter of earnest importance! Get up, please...I don't have much longer before I'm gone from this world."

This time, hearing honest emotion in the voice of Patrick Stewart, Colt began to question what was happening. After all, why had the other characters in the game stopped moving all at the same time, except for Septim? All the others were frozen and the screen was awash in an orange haze that covered everything and everyone on the screen aside from Septim himself. Slowly, Colt raised his head and gazed quizzically at the tiny figure on the screen.

"If this isn't a game," he started, not sure what to feel anymore. "...and if you know my name, and all this is true...how can I believe you?"

Septim smiled, reaching a hand toward Colt. Amazingly, it bowed out the glass before popping through as if the glass were the skin on the surface of a lake. Startled, Colt fell backward.

"Oh my god...this is just like The Ring!"

Ignoring him, Septim went on with his speech. "Take my hand, Colt. You will trust me because you have to. Your life depends on it. The stars were right. This is the day...Gods give me strength."

Hesitation in his movements, Colt reached out to take hold of the Emperor's hand. When it seemed as if he would back down and not grasp Septim's hand, the Emperor lurched forward and yanked Colt toward the computer monitor with unstoppable force. Letting a small shriek escape, he shut his eyes, expecting his face to slam into the computer monitor and send it crashing forward onto the floor.

It didn't.

When he opened his eyes, Colt was in the same cell with Bjorngar Hammerstrike, who was now looking down at Colt, his own eyes narrowed. Colt backed away from the character _he_ had created...he had created _himself_...and stared in awe. Bjorngar Hammerstrike was _real_. The cell was _real_. It was _all real_.

"How did you get into my cell?" Bjorngar asked in a voice thick with an accent of some kind. "Why are you here? Why am _I_ here?"

Colt said nothing, speechless and not knowing what he should do with this new development. His main urge at the moment was to run. He was not given the chance, however. Footsteps echoed from somewhere in the distance, and they were growing louder with each passing second. He could also make out torchlight, illuminating the darkened halls beyond the bars of the cell.

"Are you without the ability to speak?" Bjorngar asked.

"Um...I made you, dude. You're a Nord Warrior. Your birthsign was The Warrior, so you'd have an additional ten strength and endurance."

"What? How came you to know my birthsign? And what know you of the Nord People? Surely you are a Breton?"

Speechless once more, Colt stared at the man. He was just as he had created him.

"This is getting weird," he mumbled, before the cell was washed in torchlight. Three guards and Uriel Septim himself stood at the entrance to the cell.

"Why is the cell occupied?" One of the guards, a female, asked. "I thought I gave instructions to have this cell cleared!"

"It's no matter," replied the tallest guard, his voice deep and husky like Bjorngar's, but without the accent. "We have no time to reflect on it." The tall guard unsheathed a wicked-looking katana and spoke directly to Bjorngar and Colt. "Back against the wall, prisoners. We are coming in, and we will kill you if you move."

Bjorngar silently backed against the wall, doing as he obeyed but looking defiant the entire time. Colt just stood, watching the guards until the tall one smacked the flat of his sword against the bars of the cell. "Back _against_ the _wall_, prisoner!" he yelled. "Don't make me hurt you..."

Dumbfounded, Colt began stammering to protest that this wasn't real and that he didn't have to do anything, that it was just a game and that maybe he was going a little bit crazy, but it all came out as gibberish. Before he could collect himself and try again, he was seized backward roughly and pushed against the wall. The breath was pushed from his lungs momentarily, preventing him from protesting against his rough treatment in any way.

"You'll not get me killed, too, fool!" Bjorngar hissed. "Are you mad? They will run you through! Those are the Blades!"

The air finally returning to his lungs, Colt thought it best to remain quiet and still as the Blades ushered Uriel Septim into the cell. The female guard began touching the moldy walls near the bunks...knocking on a stone here and there until finally one made a hollow thunk, and she pushed it in with the pommel of her sword. The wall shifted and began to move causing Colt to jump slightly.

Colt could have sworn Uriel Septim winked at him from across the cell, but he didn't dare speak about him, as the large, brown-skinned guard had his sword inches from Colt's throat. Suddenly, he wished that maybe he had bought a different game instead.


End file.
